CELEBRATE A NEW CREATIVE SEASON WITH WHEATON SPRINGS 2022

CELEBRATE A NEW CREATIVE SEASON WITH WHEATON SPRINGS 2022

MILLVILLE, NJ (March 7, 2022) – Celebrate the start of Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center’s creative season with the free kick-off event Wheaton Springs 2022 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 2! The Wheaton Springs 2022 event offers every visitor the chance to explore, experience, create and celebrate across WheatonArts’ 45-acre campus that inspires and heals the senses. The event also introduces WheatonArts’ new Glass Studio Director, Netflix Blown Away star Alex Rosenberg, through an engaging demonstration of glass and water creating optical lenses. Admission to all exhibitions and artist studio demonstrations are free and open to the public, part of WheatonArts Family Days Presented by PNC Arts Alive!

Explore three thought-provoking exhibits between the Museum of American Glass and Down Jersey Folklife Center. The Threads of Time & Wisdom exhibition in the Folklife Center visually compares traditional textiles of two indigenous communities, the Chilean Mapuche people and the Guatemalan Maya people, and Chilean horsehair (crin) miniatures of religious and secular objects. The new Collecting & Connecting exhibition in the Museum highlights recent acquisitions of various glass techniques and concepts, including neon sculpture and works using biological materials. The Museum’s ongoing People, Place, Process exhibition honors 50 years of glassmakers at WheatonArts, with collaborations that artfully combine vision, artifacts that serve as muse, and the tools that connect skills across time. 

Experience a collection of artist demonstrations throughout the campus! See resident artists Terry Plasket and Phyllis Seidner demonstrating various clay techniques to create bird-related pottery. Watch as mural artist and glass painter J. Kenneth Leap demonstrates large-scale painting and discusses an exciting new community project. Discover different paper art techniques and styles with artists Hou-Tien Cheng and Cherelle Oriolo and wood carving skills from local artists Hop Edwards, Ray Yoast, and Domenick Maggio. “The Jersey Jerry Broomsquire” Dr. Sam Moyer will demonstrate how he creates whisk brooms with his cord tension control wheel made from an old bicycle. Visit with glass artist Bill Futer as he designs glass marbles using glass rods, a torch, and gravity. Engage with Alex Rosenberg in the Glass Studio to witness the creation and use of glass and water to create different kinds of optical lenses.

Create with a series of hands-on projects for all ages and skill levels! Join Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape master artist Tyrese “Bright Flower” Gould Jacinto for an intimate experience in pine-needle basket making and special displays of Native American artworks, including beadwork, wampum belts, leatherwork, gourd art, and more. Design your own macrame rainbow keychains, paper fortune cookies, and pony bead flowers and spiders. Create a fused glass magnet or pendant in the Education Studio using small pre-cut pieces of glass to be fired for you and ready to pick up or shipped for a fee a week later. There will also be an “en plein air” (outdoor) sketching activity at the end of the Nature Trail.

Celebrate by enjoying a bite to eat from a selection of food vendors and picnicking on the scenic grounds. Throughout the day, listen to live musical compositions by Matt Schwarz. (updated 3/22/2022)

The Wheaton Springs opening season event is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 2, 2022. For more information about WheatonArts’ programs, call 856-825-6800 or 800-998-4552, or browse wheatonarts.org. Press images available upon request by emailing wheatonartsnews@wheatonarts.org. WheatonArts is open April through December from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Special event hours may vary. Admission tickets can be purchased online or at the gate. Closed Easter Sunday, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.

WheatonArts strives to ensure the accessibility of its exhibitions, events, and programs to all persons with disabilities. Please provide two weeks’ notice of additional needs. Patrons with hearing and speech disabilities may contact WheatonArts through the New Jersey Relay Service (TRS) 800-852-7899 or by dialing 711.

Funding has been made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New Jersey Cultural Trust. WheatonArts receives general operating support from the New Jersey Historical Commission, Division of Cultural Affairs in the New Jersey Department of State, and is supported in part by the New Jersey Department of State, Division of Travel and Tourism. 

__________

About WheatonArts: With a history spanning five decades, WheatonArts is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to engage artists and audiences in an evolving exploration of creativity. It has earned regional, national and international recognition for its unique collections and programs. The Museum of American Glass (accredited by the American Alliance of Museums) houses one of the most comprehensive collections of American glass in the country – from the first glass bottles made in America to celebrated works by Dale Chihuly, Paul Stankard, and other contemporary glass artists. From April through December, visitors experience the art of glassmaking, pottery, and flameworking in the Artists Studios. The Museum of American Glass and Down Jersey Folklife Center presents special exhibitions bridging historical and cultural traditions through modern times. WheatonArts also offers multi-cultural programs, classes, workshops, performances, and popular weekend festivals. The award-winning Museum Stores offer traditional and contemporary art and craft in all mediums, and its one-mile looping Nature Trail showcases the serenity of the region.

###

X